English 10: Vocabulary Week #4

Copy the words and their definitions on your own paper to SAVE.  Pretext: an excuse  Fabricate: to lie; to construct  Adroit: skillful  Gesticulate: to move one’s arms energetically  Vigilant: watchful  Avid: eager  Cajole: to coax  Rudimentary: bare minimum; lowest level; elementary  Enhance: to intensify; to heighten; to beautify  Nuance: slight variation in meaning, tone, or color

Read for understanding:  Under the pretext of being a surgeon, a man gained entry to a hospital. When interviewed by the director, he had to fabricate a tale of his medical experience, but he was such an adroit liar that he got away with it. It was not until the phony “doctor” began to gesticulate wildly with his scalpel that a vigilant nurse was able to detect the fraud. In the annals of medical history, there have been a number of such cases of impersonation.

Read for understanding.  As an avid football fan, Bob tries to see the KC Chiefs play whenever he can get tickets. He often cajoles his wife into accompanying him to the games. She has only a rudimentary knowledge of the sport, however, and she does not enjoy the games. Bob’s mind in steeped in details about each player and he loves to explain each intricate detail of each play. He thinks that this enhances his wife’s enjoyment of the game, but it only bores her. Bob’s awareness of every nuance of the game is actually a bit too much for most people to tolerate.

Number Write only the correct WORD for each sentence. Hand in after we check in class.  1. Even though the student was usually an XXX liar, the teacher immediately sensed that he was fibbing.  2. The night guardsman was quite XXX on his shift of duty. He watched for any sign of trouble.  3. The upholstery factory was able to XXX a new convertible top for the car in less than a day after it was damaged by hail.  4. Her XXX of being too tired to go did not fool anyone.  5. By XXXing wildly, the man who was floating helplessly down the river in a small boat was able to attract attention to the plane overhead.  6. Since Bob’s knowledge of French is only XXX, he cannot communicate well with the foreign-exchange student from Paris.  7. The baby was easily XXXed into going back to sleep.  8. To XXX the looks of his home, Bob had his yard professionally landscaped.  9. When choosing paint, one must be careful to notice the subtle XXXs in the shades of each color.  10. Mrs. Koenigsdorf is an XXX reader of interior design magazines.